Film / Legend of the Black Scorpion

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The Banquet, known also by its international release title Legend of the Black Scorpion, is a 2006 wuxia adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet, with a few notable changes and twists. Gertrude's expy, the Empress Wan, is rewritten as a much younger and more ambitious woman, who is playing a game of her own as the revenge plot marches on.

In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Wu Luan is a prince who leaves home to pursue the arts and forget his heartbreak, since his father the Emperor has married Wan, the girl Wu Luan loves. Three years later, his uncle murders his father and takes the throne and the beautiful Wan for himself. Wu Luan returns to court at the summons of the Empress to protect him from assassination attempts, and from here he attempts to learn the truth of his father's death and exact revenge on his uncle, while struggling to come to terms with his feelings for not only his step-mother but also his former betrothed, the devoted Qing.

In the meantime, the new Emperor is completely smitten with Wan and she uses this to her advantage, carving out a place for herself in his court and consolidating her own power. The Empress has a plan, and she is biding her time, waiting to make her move.

Because of the time it was made, the similar setting and themes, and the fact that Gong Li was originally slotted for the role of the Empress, the movie is often compared with Curse of the Golden Flower.

This film contains examples of:

Alas, Poor Villain: It's hard not to feel a little sorry for the Emperor when he realises he was just another pawn in the Empress's plan, and accepts death at her hands because "if it is your will, how can I refuse?" He dies in her lap.

Ambition Is Evil: Wan ultimately ends up losing everything she actually loved in her grab for power. Then someone killed her.

Becoming the Mask: Wu Luan and Wan have a discussion about the power of masks in theater and whether or not wearing one brings about a greater performance. This as Wan is slowly becoming one with her queenly mask.

Black Widow: The Empress only married for power. Once she was in position, she murdered her husband.

Blood Is Squicker in Water: Blood flowing into water is something of a motif in the film. At one point the Emperor dropping a red grape into water evokes earlier examples of actual blood in water and signals that an execution is coming.

I Will Wait for You: Qing feels this way about Wu Luan, although she knows he can never be hers.

If I Can't Have You...: Pretty much everything the Empress does to Qing is driven by the fact that she is still in love with Wu Luan and doesn't want Qing to marry him.

The Ingenue: Qing, though she does show surprising insight into the Empress's personality.

Insistent Terminology: The first conversation of the movie between Wan and the Emperor is basically them deciding if they will settle into the role of husband and wife by playing with calling each other in-laws.

Pei Hong dies for referring to Wan as the Empress dowager, loudly and clearly.

Kill 'em All: The Emperor sends assassins to kill Wu Luan, but all the men in his acting troupe are wearing identical masks and can't be told apart. The assassins are forced to kill all of them. None of them is Wu Luan.

Knight Templar Big Brother: Yin Sun is very protective of Qing, fully prepared to kill for her sake, and holds a grudge against Wu Luan because she loves him but he can't make her happy.

Lady in Red: The Empress wears either red or black for most of the film. Scenes emphasizing her sexual dominance over the Emperor show her in, or surrounded by, red fabric.

Laughing Mad: Pei Hong, after he finds he's the only man of integrity left.

Love-Obstructing Parents: Wu Luan's father married the woman Wu Luan loved and hoped to marry. Can't get much more obstructive than that.

Man in White: Wu Luan wears white throughout the film while most of the cast wears some combination of red and black, highlighting his loneliness, lack of allies at court, and purity. His mask on the other hand turns increasingly dark as the court becomes more corrupt.

Manipulative Bastard: The Empress. She plays the Emperor's emotions effortlessly, and easily manipulates Minister Yin through his daughter.

Manly Tears: Wu Luan sheds some for his father after performing a play that accuses his uncle of murder.

May–December Romance: Wan was younger than the previous Emperor's own son when they married, and is undoubtedly decades younger than the new Emperor as well.

"The Reason You Suck" Speech: The Empress gives one to Wu Luan. You can actually pinpoint the moment she gives up on him when he argues with her.

Reassigned to Antarctica: Wu Luan is made an ambassador to Khitan. Everybody knows he's really being sent to his death for pissing off his uncle.

Sarcastic Clapping: After Wu Luan's play, the Emperor slowly claps, signalling that the audience may also applaud. But what happens immediately following shows that he understood his nephew's challenge and is going to kill him.

Scenery Porn: Largely in black, white, red, and gold, though scenes at the outdoor theatre are overwhelmingly green.

Show Within a Show: Wu Luan puts on a play for the Empress's coronation. This doesn't just get the Emperor, the tension in the room implicates that everyone knows what he's on about.

Sibling Triangle: The Emperor murdered his brother and married his brother's wife. Wan didn't want anything to do with this, but she submits. Or appears to.

Stalker with a Crush: The Emperor has been watching Wan for a long time before they marry. He's very familiar with her routines for removing her makeup and entering the bath.

Star-Crossed Lovers: Wu Luan, originally with Wan, and then with Qing. The crossing of their stars in both cases is highlighted by the fact that in the scenes where the couples are closest to realizing their mutual affection, Wu Luan and Wan/Qing are both wearing all white and moving together in a synchronized fashion. Wu Luan spars with Wan and performs a dance with Qing. And then everything falls apart.

Tears of Blood: Instead of the ghost of the prince's father, we have the father's armor weeping blood from the eye-holes.

Waif-Fu: A wuxia film with Zhang Ziyi is almost guaranteed to have this.

What the Hell, Hero?: The Empress admonishes Wu Luan more than once when he says or does something stupid that's going to get him killed.

White Mask of Doom: There's no denying that Wu Luan's mask is pretty scary. Later Qing puts it on, and is soon killed.

Woman in White: The Empress, when widowed at the beginning of the film, and during her first on-screen meeting with Wu Luan. This is an emphasis of her lost childhood innocence and purity.

Qing is generally seen wearing more white than most other characters, but it isn't until the end that she's dressed all in white. Echoing Wu Luan's introduction, Qing performs at the banquet wearing the same pure white outfit and the mask that has become increasingly stained and black. By the end she is dying, and Wu Luan finally realizes he loves her.

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